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Aesop's Fables, Part 259 summary

Part 259 of 284 · 1 min to read the part

In The Crow and the Raven, a jealous Crow tries to gain the Raven’s respected reputation for predicting events by cawing at passing travelers. Their alarm ends when one identifies her, and her attempt to seem important becomes an example of how pretending invites ridicule.

What happens

  1. The Crow envies the respect people give the Raven as a predictor of events.
  2. She sees travelers approaching and caws loudly from a roadside branch.
  3. The travelers fear that the sound signals something bad.
  4. One traveler identifies the Crow and reassures the others that her call means nothing.
  5. The closing moral says that pretending to be something else makes people ridiculous.

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What to notice

The moral links the Crow’s failed performance to the ridicule that false pretenses invite.

Quick check

Why do the travelers stop fearing the bird’s call?

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